


I’m Asking You to Stay

by little_dead_girl



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Caffeine Addiction, Domestic Fluff, Emotionally Repressed, Everyone knows they like each other it’s literally so obvious, Feels, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Just get ready to feel things, M/M, Mutual Pining, Quarantine, Slow Burn, dumb boys, more tags to be added as this gets updated, unspoken body worship
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-10
Updated: 2020-06-13
Packaged: 2021-03-02 18:28:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 10,982
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24111331
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/little_dead_girl/pseuds/little_dead_girl
Summary: Kuroo’s head was reeling at a mile a minute, tuning out his friend's words.‘He’s being logical about this, he’s always so damn logical. What can I possibly say that’ll make him not leave? I can’t out-argue this kid! Literally no one on earth can! How do I get him to stay, how do I get him to stay, how do I-‘“If you won’t stay for yourself then stay for me.”“What?”ORTsukishima Kei is in Tokyo for a Karasuno reunion and has been staying at Kuroo Tetsurou’s place. But when a global pandemic hits, is he really ready for this visit to be over? Especially with so many words still unsaid...
Relationships: Akaashi Keiji/Bokuto Koutarou, Kuroo Tetsurou/Tsukishima Kei, Mentioned Hinata Shoyo/Kageyama Tobio, Mentioned Yamaguchi Tadashi/Hitoka Yachi, mentioned Sawamura Daichi/Sugawara Koushi
Comments: 24
Kudos: 82





	1. A Hero to Put Out Fires

**Author's Note:**

> Ok hi I know we all are coming here to read fics to escape the crushing reality of quarantine, but I pretty much only know how to write things I know about so here I am writing about my favourite boys stuck in quarantine together. 
> 
> I pretty much already have a general outline for how each chapter is gonna go, so this should just be 12 chapters long (unless something remarkable strikes me and I decide these boys need a little extra damage). But if I like writing this whole quarantine AU I might do some one shot follow ups of other pairings I like and how they’re fairing during all of this too. 
> 
> This chapter is also definitely way too long but I had some world building to do and wanted to set everything up right, so there, bite me...
> 
> Uuhhhh anyway, yeah enjoy! 
> 
> -Kay xxx

The two men sat on the couch, numb as they watched the morning news in silence. Tetsurou’s arms rested on his knees, whole body shifted forward as he barely perched on the edge of his seat, knees bouncing as his body tried to expel enough nervous energy to power a city. His fingers absently picked at the skin around his nails, an anxious habit that didn’t get his hands swatted down by the man next to him as gnawing at his nails had been a couple minutes earlier. But Kei no longer had the wherewithal for his usual irritability to be actively paying attention to his friends' endless fidgeting. His own long, slender fingers were wrapped a hair too tight around a coffee mug, the murky liquid inside untouched and long gone cold. The only noticeable betrayal of nerves were his narrowed eyes, scrutinising the television screen as if maybe the prescription in his glasses had stopped working and his poor vision was playing tricks on him. While they could doubt their eyes all they liked, neither men suffered from issues with their ears, despite how much they may have wished they did as the tight lipped, professionally dressed man on the screen droned on. 

_“...asking the public not to panic, but to calmly adhere to the following guidelines that will be systematically enforced over the next twenty four hours for an indefinite amount of time until a point in which it is deemed safe to begin retracting these newly imposed rules. Please situate yourself in a place of residence within the next two days before travel is halted. All non essential workers will be required to stay home, employers are urged to find ways in which their employees may continue work from their places of residence. Non essential businesses…”_

Kei placed his neglected coffee on the low table in front of them, pushing up slowly to his feet. 

“I should pack.”

It took the raven headed man a beat to register what had been said before he was able to tear his eyes away from the television. The blonde was already on the move. 

“W-wait, what?”

“You heard the report, Kuroo. No travelling after tomorrow, so I should get to the station before it’s impossible to get a train ticket. Tadashi is already blowing up my phon-“

“You don’t have to go though!” Now Kuroo was on his feet, following the blonde into the guest bedroom in his house. Kei had been staying with him for the past two weeks when his old murder of crows had decided to have a reunion in Tokyo during the spring holiday. When the older man had heard his favourite blocker would be in town, he insisted Kei stay with him instead of paying for a hotel. 

His official argument had gone along the lines of, _“I literally haven’t seen you since your university graduation over a year ago and if you’re coming for a reunion anyway, why not kill two birds with one stone— no pun intended… ok you got me, a little bit of a pun fucking sue me— and we can have a Third Gym reunion too! Plus why bother paying premium for a hotel during a holiday season when I live right in the city and you haven’t even seen my new place yet and Akaashi and Bo who live right down the street are dying to see you and most importantly pleeaaase.”_

The truth was closer to what Akaashi had bluntly said to him when the three had all found out the Karasuno lot would be in the city when a certain overly excited ginger ball of pure energy called insistently stating that he desperately wanted to plan a night out with Bokuto while he was visiting. That harsh slap of reality from his best friends boyfriend went a little something like, _“Listen, Kuroo, sweetheart, I’m telling you this because I love you. You need to get your bed head in the game and pull your shit together. Reconnect with Tsukishima while he’s here because I don’t know how much longer you can just wallow in this soppy state of self pity over this crush you’ve had for the past nine years before you miss your chance entirely. We both know he’s smart and attractive and driven and he’ll be snatched up by someone who both realises those things AND has the balls to do something about it eventually. So use this opportunity to get close with him again because I don’t want to have to deal with you crying on my and Bo’s new couch when we’re all getting invited to that boys wedding a couple years down the line. Get. It. Together.”_

As usual, Akaashi was right. And also as per usual, Kuroo only half listened. Sure, he’d put on his big-boy volleyball shorts (after a full night of anxiety and changing his mind at least a hundred times and writing out a script of exactly what he would say and deleting it and rewriting it and deleting it again and throwing his phone across the room and then rewriting it and and and…) ...and finally calling the beautiful blonde majesty of sharp wit and ungodly amounts of sass and insisting he stay with Kuroo during his trip. Which, mind you, was terrifying enough on its own. What he had _not_ yet managed to do was tell that stunning celestial being that he had been absolutely undeniably disgustingly head over heels for the guy since they’d first met at that summer training camp back in high school and no person on the planet earth could even come close in comparison to how unfairly perfect he was. He kept telling himself _tomorrow, I’ll do it tomorrow,_ but after two weeks of _tomorrow’s_ he only had a week left—

Except now he didn’t and Kei was pulling his clothes off the hangers and unplugging his work laptop from where it had been charging and grabbing his toothbrush from the bathroom counter and oh my god he was going to leave and it would be too late and it was time to _PANIC!_

“Did your brain break while watching the report? Of course I have to go, you loon. In case it hasn’t registered with you, and I’m aware you’re a bit slow but try to keep up, there’s a global pandemic.”

“I heard it loud and clear, four-eyes! But seriously you should stay. This thing spreads in the damn air, all it takes is one sweet old lady to _breathe_ on you while you're on the train or for you to touch a handrail that some kid wiped it’s snot on and suddenly you’re a statistic!” Tetsuro was gesturing around wildly, fishing around in his brain for any argument to get Tsukishima not to go. 

“I’ll be fine. I’ll wear a mask and gloves and not put my hands anywhere near my face. Tadashi and Yachi are probably running around like headless chickens right now trying to pack up and get out of the hotel, plus there’s work-“

“You have your laptop with you,” Kuroo interrupted, following Kei around the house as he collected things, “You’ve been doing work on that while you’ve been here and I guarantee the museum will be closed long before you get back. And you don’t give those two enough credit, they’re perfectly capable adults who are probably handling this just about as well as anyone else.” _No he’s right, they’re probably freaking out. But will him being there really make a difference? I mean, yeah probably, but..._

“You’re being ridiculous, I can’t just stay here,” Kei was shouldering his backpack, small duffle bag of clothes already sitting by the front door at this point, “This was supposed to be a couple week long trip, not a potentially several month long move. I appreciate you putting up with me for the past couple of weeks, and I’m genuinely sorry about having to cut this visit short but you really don’t want to have to share your space with me until they figure out how to fix this. It’s better if…”

Kuroo’s head was reeling at a mile a minute, tuning out his friend's words. _He’s being logical about this, he’s always so damn logical. What can I possibly say that’ll make him not leave? I can’t out-argue this kid! Literally no one on earth can! How do I get him to stay, how do I get him to stay, how do I-_

“If you won’t stay for yourself then stay for me.”

“What?”

Kuroo studied his feet harder than he’d ever studied for a class or exam in his life, shoulders tight and head ducked nervously. His hands were clenched at his sides, white knuckling it through this last ditch effort, praying to anyone who was listening for this to not make this gorgeous stoic man laugh in his face for the words already spilling out of his mouth, “If you leave then I’ll be alone for… for God knows how long, and I… and I don’t want to be alone and… and I really don’t want you to leave. I want you to stay here… with me… please...” His eyes stayed trained down. _Oh GOD that was pathetic, I’m so pathetic. He has no reason to stay for me, why the hell would I think that was going to work. Stupid, stupid, stupid Tetsurou!_ He didn’t have the strength to look the other man in the eye when he inevitably told him that he wouldn’t-

A soft thud sounded in front of him, “Ok. I’ll stay.”

His head snapped up at terminal velocity that probably should’ve dislodged his saucer wide eyes from his skull. Or just unceremoniously torn his head off his shoulders entirely. There was no way on God's good earth or in the fiery planes of hell that he could’ve possibly heard that right. 

But sure enough, Tsukishima’s backpack lay on the floor. Honey toned eyes looked at him with apprehension, slightly guarded. But there he was, making no effort to move.

“Y-you… really?”

He watched as Kei’s teeth pulled at rosey lips, an action Kuroo had to force himself not to watch too closely for fear of his knees turning to jelly and his heart imploding in his chest. Finally after a long moment of hesitation, searching Kuroo for something the older man couldn’t quite place, the blonde replied, “If you’re sure you really want me to stay… I… I guess I can stay. But you have to be one hundred percent su-“

“I’m sure.”

After a couple more beats of hesitant scrutiny, and a deep breath, “Then I need to go call Tadashi. Tell him I… won’t be coming home for a while…” He gave Kuroo one last once over before pulling his phone out of his pocket and walking back to the guest bedroom, closing the door behind him with a quiet click. 

_Oh my God. He’s staying._

——————

_WHAT THE HELL DID I JUST DO???_

Kei’s back leaned against the shut bedroom door, body stunned into paralysis. He didn’t breathe, he didn’t blink, he didn’t dare to move because maybe if he just froze in place then time would halt to a standstill with him. 

The buzz of the phone gripped in his hand laughed at his ignorant wishful thinking with a noise that confirmed he’d have no such luck. A gulp forcing through his tight throat he ultimately resigned to pulling in a slow, tight breath. Glancing down, the device was piled high and glaring up at him with notifications. 

**Messenger:**

**YAMAGUCHI TADASHI**

**(31 new messages)**

**Messenger:**

**HITOKA YACHI**

**(17 new messages)**

**Phone:**

**YAMAGUCHI TADASHI**

**(5 missed calls, 3 voicemails)**

**Messenger:**

**TSUKISHIMA AKITERU**

**(3 new messages)**

**Phone:**

**TSUKISHIMA AYAKO**

**(1 missed call, 1 voicemail)**

**Messenger:**

**BITCH SQUAD - KARASUNO VBALL**

**(57 new messages)**

**Messenger:**

**AKAASHI KEIJI**

**(1 new message)**

Kei stumbled over to the bed, sitting himself down without taking his eyes off the bombarded screen. He adjusted his glasses, more to grasp at any feeling of normalcy than the frames actually needing to be straightened out. His thumb swiped at the phones lock screen, mindlessly going to type in his password but never getting the chance as the device rattled in his palm with the blaring notification of an incoming call. 

“Hey…” Kei sighed as he brought the phone to his ear. 

“Hey?! That’s all you’ve got? Tsukki, we’ve been trying to get ahold of you for the past hour!”

“I know, sorry.”

“You’ve seen the news, right? This is like, a way bigger deal than we thought. _Oh man, now I feel really bad for teasing Hinata about it the other night…”_

“Yeah, I saw. Hey, Tadashi—“

“Listen, so Yachi and I are heading out to the train station in like, ten minutes. Do you want to meet us there or—“

“Tadashi—“

“—we can have the taxi take us by Kuroo’s place on the way so we can pick you up or—“

“Yeah, Tadashi, about Kuroo—“

“—do you want me to call you your own taxi because it might be faster or—“

“Tadashi, stop. I’m staying here.”

“—maybe you want to call…. hang on, what?”

“I…,” Kei hesitated. If he wanted to change his mind, this was the time to do it. Once he said anythin– Oh nope, never mind his mouth is already moving, ok, “...I’m going to stay at Kuroo’s, he… he asked if I’d stay. So I’m staying.”

“He… _Wait, really?_ So you’re… Wow, _actually?_ Oh my gosh, not that I’m complaining at all because wow that’s ohmygoshTsukkiwowthatsAMAZ—“

“Stop,” Kei barked out, sharp, harsher than intended but effectively shutting up the man on the other end of the line instantly. He pinched at his nose between furrowed brows, taking a deep breath... _Inhale. Exhale. Relax, dumbass..._ before continuing in a much more practiced tone, “It’s not… He doesn’t want to be stuck on his own here for what could potentially be quite a while, _that’s it_. So don’t start with any of that other stuff. Obviously I won’t stay if you and Hitoka—“

“No! I- I mean, we’ll be fine! You should definitely stay! Yachi and I will be perfectly ok, so don’t you worry about us. If you want to stay, and he… _wow_... Stay. Seriously. I can send you anything you need from the apartment when we get back, just text me a list of whatever you need. It’ll be fine, I’m just glad you’re safe. It’s gonna be ok.”

“Yeah, I know. Well all be fine,” the blonde pauses, quieter when he finally says, “Tadashi, thank you.”

He can almost see the shy blush as the other boy stumbles through the pleasantries of goodbyes and promises to call when the two of them get back home. Kei hangs up, shoulders releasing the wound up tension he’d been carrying since leaving Kuroo standing in the front room. 

_Fuck, Kuroo._ Did that bastard have even the slightest clue what this was doing to Kei? To his brain, to his heart… _No, of course he doesn’t. Why would he…?_ Digging up feelings Kei had spent longer burrying than he’d ever admit to. Because how could he possibly know that Kei had never met anyone who didn’t even slightly back down from his cold shouldered quips but instead tossed them back tenfold in a constant volley not too dissimilar to the game they bonded over. How could Kuroo possibly know that he’d torn himself apart trying to rip what he insisted were unwelcome feelings out of his very bones and that every text, every call, every smirk from across the net or at the table during reunions or in the audience during his university graduation just hammered those emotions back into him until they polluted his bloodstream. How could he know that Kei had tried desperately to turn down his invitation to lodge with him during this visit to Tokyo but something painful caught in his throat when he tried to say no, so instead he said yes and his punishment was spending the past two weeks trying not to stare, trying not to touch, trying not to let every single fucked up mangled mess of truth about how he actually felt about that man come tumbling off his tongue at every second. Damn that man and Kei’s weak will. Damn that beautiful, snarky, flirtatious man with his cheshire grin and his effortless messy hair that looked so soft Kei just wanted to—

_Stop! Fucking Christ, Kei, get yourself in check!_

He shook the intrusive ( _VERY MUCH NOT WELCOME)_ thoughts out of his head, bringing his phone up to his ear after dialing up his brother. He spent the next several minutes checking in and trading information on what the plans were for how this mess would proceed for both of them. Akiteru would still be working at the hospital, but he was keeping his assignment in Radiology so the older Tsukishima brother would mostly be working with patients presenting injuries or sent down from Neurology requiring CT scans. The brothers settled on a mutual lack of concern over it, but their mother was the one needing to be placated. 

Eventually, after an awkward expression of surprise to hear Kei would be remaining in Tokyo, Akiteru ended the call to let his brother get in touch with their parents. This was the conversation Kei was least looking forward to, mostly because he knew it wouldn’t be much of a _conversation_ at all. It came as no surprise when his mother picked up the line hardly a second into the first ring, barreling headfirst out of the gate with a barrage of gripes that had Kei holding his phone slightly away from his ear. They might all die from this virus but he sure as hell wasn’t keen on going deaf before then. One medical emergency at a time, please and thank you. 

He patiently waited through the incessant shrill panic, tuning in and out to pick up bits and pieces of something that went along the lines of, “This is unbelievable, I can’t believe the world leaders were impotent enough to let it get this far… You’re brother won’t listen to a thing I say and insists on putting himself in danger by exposing himself to a workplace teeming with illness… I knew you should never have gone on that trip to the city… The collapse of the economy is imminent and we'll never recover from the crash… I was on Facebook this morning and your cousin Himiko, you know the one on your father's side who last Christmas watered the tree with champagne, yes that one well she said… And speaking of your father he’s not nearly as concerned as he should be and keeps telling me…” Kei made appropriate sounds of recognition here and there, but kept his mouth as she gushed out her grievances. If she went on much longer his teeth would’ve likely ground into numbs, but thankfully at some point there was a brief enough pause— probably so the woman could come up for air— that Kei took as his opportunity to interject himself. 

Akiteru warned him that he’d tried to talk her down, but the reality was that Kei was the more component brother at putting a damper on their high strung mothers moods. It’s not that Kei was more understanding, in fact quite the opposite. Akiteru was always the empathetic one; he could listen to their mothers knitting circle drama, write the perfect birthday cards to leave her a weepy mess, soothe the pain when loved ones passed. Kei just wasn’t the son for those things. His skills rested in a constant calm of harsh truths and realism. He was their family’s voice of reason, and good thing too because none of the rest of them were up to the task. 

He explained to her why Akiteru’s job was important in these trying times, and how he’d likely never be exposed to at risk patents. He pointed out that lows in the economy had happened before and none of them ended the world, just slowed its progress. Kei calmly pointed a finger back at her and reminded his mother how just a week ago she’d been dismissive about the news reports of this virus and annoyed that people were letting themselves be gripped with paranoia, so if that’s how a civilian such as herself was feeling how did she expect world leaders who genuinely were being faced with the suddenness of this pandemic at the same time the public was to have any better grip of what the situation would come to. And how dare she be listening to anything said on Facebook, “I’ve told you before that place is a cesspool, you have no business getting wound up by anything you read on there.”

That seemed enough to wear her down, _for now at least,_ and she ended the call with a promise to apologise to his brother for her hysterics. With the click of silence on the end of the line, the blonde flopped down onto his back with an exhausted huff, legs still hanging off the side of the bed. His budding migraine was imminent, but that’d have to wait until he’d finished responding to needy demands for his attention still pouring in on his phone. 

**Messenger:**

**BITCH SQUAD - KARASUNO VBALL**

**(86 new messages)**

_No way in hell am I reading all of that nonsense._

Kei scrolled up in the group chat just enough to catch on to the current course of the conversation. 

**NISHIANNOYING**

**Nuh uh! Fuk u dude, obvi Ryus dying first!**

**U TANAKING TRASH?!?**

**ha u wish, short stack! Don’t u know that the virus is heavier than air? So peeps closer to the ground like u r gonna get it first XP**

**SMOL BIRB**

**is that tru?!?!? AM I GONNA DIE**

**SUGAMAMA**

**It’s not true. Don’t listen to them Hinata.**

**YAMAGUCCI**

**definitely not tru, don’t worry**

**SMOL BIRB**

**but the other night u said that it’d get me…**

**YAMAGUCCI**

**it was a joke Hinata im srry**

**SHITYAMA**

**No it’s tru, you might die**

**SUGAMAMA**

**You’re really not helping, cut it out**

**< U TANAKING TRASH?!? changed NISHIANNOYING’s name to 1ST CASUALTY>**

**SMOL BIRB**

**if i die will you guys come to my funeral???**

**< U TANAKING TRASH?!? changed SMOL BIRB’s name to 2ND CASUALTY>**

**YAMAGUCCI**

**of course we will**

**MAN DAT BUN THO**

**wouldn’t miss it for the world**

**SHITYAMA**

**no we won’t**

**EH? NO SHITA!**

**uhm ur his boyfriend, not only will you b there but u have to plan it…**

**2ND CASUALTY**

**u guys im so scared, i don’t wanna diiieee**

**< DADCHI changed U TANAKING TRASH?!?’s name to DEAD MEAT1>**

**< DADCHI changed SHITYAMA’s name to DEAD MEAT2>**

**1ST CASUALTY**

**uh oh…**

**SUGAMAMA**

**You guys brought this on yourselves.**

**DEAD MEAT1**

**fuk…**

**DADCHI**

**If you guys don’t stop messing around, you’ll be lucky if the virus gets to you before I do.**

**DADCHI**

**Tanaka, stop making up false information to scare Hinata and Nishinoya.**

**1ST CASUALTY**

**i wasn’t scared**

**< SUGAMAMA changed 1ST CASUALTY’s name to NISHIANNOYING>**

**DADCHI**

**Kageyama, be nicer to your boyfriend or I’ll be making the executive decision that you can’t date him at all.**

**EH? NO SHITA!**

**...can he do that..?**

**MAN DAT BUN THO**

**probably O_O**

**< SUGAMAMA changed 2ND CASUALTY’s name to SMOL BIRB>**

**SCARYSHIMA**

**you guys are exhausting. stop blowing up my phone.**

**YAMAGUCCI**

**Sorry, Tsukki ^^**

**DEAD MEAT1**

**Aaaaye, Tsukkidude my man, where ya been**

**SUGAMAMA**

**Tsukishima, are you heading back safe with Yamaguchi and Hitoka**

**YAMAGUCCI**

**Actually Tsukki’s gonna stay at Kuroo’s place**

**NISHIANNOYING**

**WAT?!?!???**

**DAT MAN BUN THO**

**wow really?**

**DEAD MEAT2**

**interesting choice.**

**SMOL BIRB**

**OMG IM SO JEALOUS HAVE FUN!!! SAY HI TO BOKUTO FOR MEEEEE**

**SCARYSHIMA**

**Yamaguchi…**

**YAMAGUCCI**

**oh god, sorry tsukki…**

**DEAD MEAT1**

**BLINK TWICE IF HE’S HOLDING YOU CAPTIVE**

**DEAD MEAT2**

**how are you going to see him blink?**

**SCARYSHIMA**

**Shut up you guys. He asked if I’d stay so he wouldn’t be in Quarantine alone. That’s it.**

**EH? NO SHITA!**

**makes sense**

**SUGAMAMA**

**That’s very thoughtful of you, Tsukishima. Please take good care of eachother.**

**DADCHI**

**If you need anything, you’ll call me.**

**DAT MAN BUN THO**

**scary…**

**NISHIANNOYING**

**don’t threaten his boyfriend already, Daichi!**

**< DADCHI changed NISHIANNOYING’s name to DEAD MEAT3>**

**SCARYSHIMA**

**Whatever, I’m muting you guys now.**

_God damn it, Tadashi. Keep your mouth shut for five minutes, it’s not that hard._ Kei was just about ready to throw his phone clear across the room when he remembered he had one last message to open. 

**AKAASHI KEIJI**

**If I know Kuroo at all, which I do, I know he’ll have asked you to stay. And if I know you at all, which I do, I know you’ll have said yes because you care more than you let on. Please keep an eye on eachother, I’m glad he’s got you there with him. If you need anything, don’t hesitate to call me at any time.**

The blonde sighed, pulling his already well worried bottom lip between his teeth. Akaashi did know him well, too well maybe. But this was probably the most reassuring message he’d seen all day. 

Keiji had that effect on people, always had. Even when a guarded string bean first year was affronted with the offer ( _demand, more like it)_ of practicing with three strange high school boys he wanted nothing to do with, Akaashi’s calm and reassuring energy was what really kept him from booking it out of that gym. He understood the people around him, and expressed a deep level of care for all of them. To this day, he made Kei feel… _safe._

**TSUKISHIMA KEI**

**Thank you, I appreciate it. Same to you, if you ever need to talk to someone other than that screeching owl, feel free to reach out.**

Kei relocated his phone to somewhere behind him on the bed. That was enough damage control for today, thank you very much. It was hardly noon at that point, but he already felt like he needed to curl up for a full night's sleep to recharge his rapidly drained batteries. He placed his glasses next him and rubbed at his eyes, letting them remain shut for a couple minutes so he could collect himself. 

Unfortunately rest would have to wait, as his ears twitched upon hearing the voice of the other man in the house. It was distant and he couldn’t make any actual words out, but the tone struck him as somewhat strained. _Please keep an eye on eachother..._

Hoisting himself up and padding quietly out of the guest room, phone and glasses back in his possession, he eventually found Kuroo sat hunched over on the couch. The older man had his ear to his cell, clicking his tongue and shaking his head softly. 

“Bo, you can’t just tell him not to do his job.”

He glanced up as Tsukishima entered the room, startling with gentle surprise but quickly settling his features into a somewhat pleading look. The blonde threw up a questioning brow, taking a seat on the other end of the couch. Kuroo pulled the device from his ear and pressed a button, setting it down on the coffee table as another voice came blaring out of the speaker at top volume.

“...n’t handle it if something happened to him! Any other job, fine! I wouldn’t care, but there’s way too much that could go wrong and I don’t want him to get sick! Why aren’t you taking my side on this?”

“Because even if I _‘took your side’_ as you’re choosing to put it, you know Keiji is gonna do it anyway. It’s what he’s trained to do, and if they think he’s the best person to have on the team working on a cure for this thing, then even I think he should do it!”

_Oh_ , Kei’s face lit with understanding. Akaashi worked in Biomedical Science, and if he was understanding the little he’d heard from this anxious squabble he’d just walked in on, the man had been asked to aid in research and development for putting a stop to this contagion. As much as Tsukishima wanted to be concerned, a much larger part of him was quite relieved that someone he knew to be so capable would be working on getting them all out of this mess. 

“Wow, seriously, man? You’re going to take his side on this?”

“Dude, it’s not about sides, listen i—“

“Bokuto. Do you not think Akaashi is the smartest person you’ve ever met?” That brought everything to a standstill. Kuroo looked at him in shock, and a beat of silence on the other side of the line confirmed that he had everyone's attention.

“Tsukishima? I… well of course I do, but—“

“And don’t you want the smartest people out there working on keeping us all safe?”

“Well yeah, but—“

“And because Akaashi is so smart and will be working with people like him, don’t you think there’ll be tons of safety measures in place to keep him and his team out of harm's way? Measures that’ll make sure he’s never directly exposed to this thing?”

“Sure I guess… but I’m scared that—“

“If you’re scared, how do you think Keiji’s feeling, hmm? He’s probably nervous too, and rightfully so. But instead of taking care of him and reassuring him that you trust him and have his back, you’re choosing to panic and berate him for trying to make sure you and everyone else can make it out of this mess in one piece. Do I have that right?”

There was silence on the line for a moment, then a couple of sniffles. Instead of letting the man fall apart, Kei swallowed his irritation and continued, voice coming out softer now. 

“Bokuto, you know Akaashi loves you. He’s going to be as brilliant and careful as he always is so that at the end of the day, he can come back to you and know that he’s doing everything he can to ensure you stay safe and healthy. Taking this job isn’t to hurt you, it’s to protect you. Does that make sense?”

“I… I didn’t think about it like that…”

“That’s ok, Bo,” Kuroo cut in, giving the blonde a nod signalling he’d take the wheel from here, “It’s a scary situation. You’re allowed to be upset. But just like Keiji’s doing this to help you, he needs you to help him just as much.”

“How..?”

“Well…” Kuroo scratched at the back of his head for a moment, before pulling up a smile, “This isn’t any different than when Akaashi usually has long, hard days at work, right? What do you usually do for him then?”

“I… I make dinner. He likes that curry recipe Kenma found last year, so I… I can make that. And I give him massages, ‘cause you know he always gets so tense...”

“Yeah, of course,” Kuroo grins, giving Tsukishima a satisfied look. They continued to listen to Bokuto list off things that he could do for his boyfriend, the two actively hearing his mood drag itself back out of the gutter as he went.

“...and I can be waiting at the door to give him hugs every time he comes home! And I can get those bath soaps he likes! And before we go to bed I—“

Kei choked on air and with a nervous, rushed out and probably _way_ too loud laugh Kuroo cut his friend off, “Ah haha yep! Yeah, yes, definitely all of that, dude! Uh huh! So can you do that? Can you let Akaashi be an absolute superhero and do his job? And you can he his superhero and swoop him off his feet at the end of the day? What d’ya say, man?”

“Yeah, ok! Wow my boyfriend is so cool, he’s gonna save the world! So I’ve gotta work extra hard to be twice as cool! What should my superhero name be? Actually, I’ll ask Keiji to give me one. _KEIJI, WE’RE GONNA BE SUPERHEROS—“_

And with that the line cut off. 

Kurro threw himself over dramatically on the couch with a loud sigh of relief. He looked up to Kei, who was sat on the shorter end of the corner sofa with a look of amusement pulling up the corners of his lips. 

“Thanks for saving me back there, he was seriously deep in one of his moods,” the raven haired man huffed, “but you flew in just in time to pull him out of it.” 

Kuroo sat up a little leaning on one elbow and squinting teasingly at the other, eyebrows wiggling as he mused, “Maybe you’re _my_ superhero~”

“Yeah, I don’t think so…” followed by a dismissive huff and the rolling of honey toned eyes. _Beautiful…_ then his phone, still sitting on the coffee table buzzed. 

Tsukishima turned his face away, forcing down an unwelcome blush as the other’s attention was on his phone. _Kuroo and his dumb eyebrows and his dumb hair… he’s more like a comic book character than I’ll ever be. He’s definitely the superhero here, he just needs—_

“Uhh… hey, Tsukki?”

“What now?”

“Why did Daichi just text me telling me to watch my back…?”

_—a villain..._


	2. Caffeine and Sarcasm are My Love Languages

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> First full day of quarantine and the boys are settling in. They’ve got some kinks to work out in this whole ‘living together thing’ is gonna go smoothly, but they’re figuring it out. For the first day, it could’ve gone much worse.
> 
> Also this chapter has a tiny nod to one of my absolute favourite Kuroo x Tsukki fics of all time by Antiquity; “Silence, Please, for the Weighing of the Heart“

_ Coffee.  _ It was Kei’s first thought before his eyes had even considered the possibility of cracking open that morning. He’d very much like to keep them closed actually, cement them shut in the safe space masterfully constructed behind his eyelids. But no… closed eyes meant no coffee, and no coffee meant no end to this  _ fucking migraine _ . 

He could blame the throbbing in his skull on a few things actually. First, the ceaseless onslaught of yesterday’s descent into madness. Sure, he’d muted the messages from that rowdy band of misfits he had the displeasure of calling teammates, but where was the mute button for everything else? Mute his family, mute the news, mute the world if he had it his way. And God forbid he forget, mute his new housemate… which brings up item two on Tsukishima’s migraine agenda.

Oh yes, Kuroo, who came bearing the fruits of his own tales of phone notification woes. Would that have been too bad in and of itself? No, probably not. But he felt the need to share  _ each and every one of them _ with Kei, and the Bokuto meltdown was only the tip of the iceberg. It seemed that the man only knew how to associate himself with equally large personalities. Hurdle number one came as the dramatic reading of the Kuroo family group chat, which consisted of three sisters, their mother and father, and to top it all of their grandmother, “On my Father’s side,” the man felt inclined to point out. Surrounded by this circus troop of over the top women (save for one clearly out of his depth dad forced into the role of a reluctant ring master) Tsukishima quickly got a grasp on where his friend had acquired such a notorious flair for the dramatic. One sister was thrilled, ecstatic actually, because, “This is a one in a lifetime experience! Kids will be taught about this in history lessons one day and how totally cool is it that we get to  _ live _ through that! Amazing, incredible!” Her wondrous remarks slotted between another sisters utter panic, because, “This is a global tragedy and our lives will never be the same and what if we never get to go back to the way things were oh life is suffering and this is setting a horrible prescient because the generations of times to come will only know a post-pandemic hellscape!” The third sister, the youngest, expressed no sense of elation either way, just that, “I don’t know what to do because my boyfriend wants me to move in with him for this and I just don’t know if our relationship is at that point and what if this drives a wedge in our relationship because we realize we actually can’t stand each other?” Tsukishima related to that to an uncomfortable degree. Maybe being forced into close confines with the object of your affection is a youngest child curse or something. At least she was actually  _ dating  _ hers, because he had no such claim. 

Kuroo’s mother and grandmother were pulling the same grade-a level bullshit his own mom had been on when they’d spoken on the phone earlier, and that made for double the headache. At least these two heathens were capable of expressing their frenzy over text, which offered a partial damper on their rampage. And now that Tetsurou knew Kei was capable of talking even the highest strung looney bins off a ledge, he had no qualms in begging for Kei’s continued guidance on navigating this feral bunch. 

Of course that couldn’t  _ possibly  _ be allowed to be the most exhausting bit of troubleshooting the two men spent the afternoon tackling. Believe it or not, that trophy actually went to Kenma. The poor guy had been sent off on a business trip for a Developers Conference in America and had found himself stranded in LAX with a useless ticket for a cancelled flight and a laptop without a charge. So that left Kuroo sitting on the phone with his friend trying to steer him away from a meltdown while Tsukishima pulled off the most impressive last minute airline booking anyone had ever accomplished in their life,  _ not to brag or anything. _

The third, and likely largest, nail in the coffin of this migraine was most definitely still sitting on the table out in the lounge. Kei’s poor, forgotten coffee from the previous day had never even offered a drop of caffeine to his bloodstream. Instead it remained cold, stale, and untouched, now punishing him for its abandonment through withdrawals. Tsukishima was irreparably addicted to that bitter drug, a shameless slave bent to its will. So like the cruel master it was, his need for caffeine cracked the whip that finally opened his gritty feeling eyes and spurred those achy bones into action. 

Glasses, on. 

Phone, pocketted. 

Shirt…  _ fuck it. _

And with that he was emerging from his room and lugging his half asleep half dressed body into the kitchen. The clock on the wall read 7:18... which meant it was  _ actually _ 7:03. Kei had learned the hard way early on during his stay that every clock in Tetsurou’s home was set fifteen minutes ahead. 

“Helps me get out the door sooner!” he’d explained.

“Helps me have an anxiety attack…” Kei’d replied after having sprinted out the door to meet his teammates in the city one morning only to proceed to scratch his head at how he’d managed to be the first one there when he definitely should’ve been running behind.

Although now that they have no engagements to actually be late to, maybe he should consider setting them all to the correct time. Seeing as no one would really be going anywhere for a while, he doubted the older man would even notice. 

When the coffee machine finally whirred into being, he’d never heard a lovelier sound in his life. The very scent of a fresh brew almost made him feel alive again.  _ Almost.  _ But it wasn’t until he had a full mug warming his hands and settling pleasantly on his tongue that the throbbing in his skull began to lessen. Kei acknowledged that  _ one of these days _ he’d need to start managing this dependence.  _ Today was not that day. _

——————

Tetsurou could get used to this. Every morning since a certain early rising blonde had started staying with him, he’d awoken to a warm earthy aroma settling over his home like a blanket. He couldn’t have ever said before that he was really a  _ ‘coffee-guy’ _ , but the way Kei had befriended his old neglected drip filter machine was more than enough to warrant a conversion. It’d far too easily become his new normal, and part of him felt it’d made this house feel so much more like a home. Yeah, he could definitely get used to this. 

_ Don’t _ , his better judgment warned,  _ this is a temporary situation so don’t go getting comfortable with it _ . But Kuroo’d never listened to that little voice of reason  _ before _ , so why start now? He was already trying and failing to ignore the knowledge that he’d probably still set a pot of coffee to brew every morning for the rest of his life even if there was no one around to drink it anymore.  _ Oh God help him, he was totally screwed… _

For now though, he’d make sure to enjoy every moment of his new housemates presence, and that meant getting his tiered bones out of bed and into the land of the living. He pulled on a plain hoodie and an ancient pair of volleyball shorts— the perfect morning look to compliment his bed head, which was looking especially lopsided and floofy today,  _ thank you very much for noticing _ — before sluggishly shuffling his way out of the room. 

As Tetsurou stepped into the kitchen, the yawn he was halfway through caught in his throat, successfully choking him. But what else was he supposed to do upon walking in on  _ this _ ? 

Kei was stood facing away from the entry Kuroo had just come through, coffee mug next to him and phone in hand, torso  _ bent over the counter  _ and resting on his elbows  _ with no shirt in sight.  _ There was just this bare stunning expanse of lean muscular shoulders, back,  _ hips… _ adorned with practically flawless porcelain skin save for a couple delicate looking moles speckled here and there. Blonde hair curled at the nape of his neck leading down to where his shoulder blades rested slightly pinched which pointed own to a toned and slender waist that just demanded the attention of the eye to slip over shallow venus dimples before slipping below the waistband of coal grey joggers that perfectly accentuated—

_ Dear God, he took back what he’d said before. Kuroo Tetsuro wasn’t just screwed, he was most definitely, undeniably, irreparably fucked.  _

He must’ve made some sort of noise— though he was sure it wasn’t a flattering one— because after a moment of languid staring, the Adonis before him turned to look over his shoulder with sleep heavy eyes. 

“Morning,” Tsukishima offered, rolling his shoulders slightly as he stood up, “Coffee?”

“Uh ye-“ Kuroo quickly cleared his throat when his voice cracked, “Yeah, sure. Thanks.”  _ This man did  _ not  _ know what he was doing to him...  _

There’s a quiet hum of off handed acknowledgement as Kei retrieves another mug out of the pantry. He’s still mostly caught up with tapping away at his phone screen, but multitasked flawlessly as the fresh cup is filled and three scoops of sugar disappear past the surface of the murky liquid. 

Kuroo didn’t know  _ how _ Tsukishima knew to make his coffee that way, but on day one of the blondes' stay that’s what had been pressed into his hands. It was the first time he’d finished a cup of coffee since before he could remember, and now he’d had one every day since. 

“Hey, you ok?” Kei was looking up from his phone now, a single brow quirked in hesitant curiosity and an expectant mug held out waiting between them. 

_ Shit _ , Tetsurou had totally been staring. His sleep addled brain was still in the process of trying to reboot after certainly experiencing the blue screen of death at the sight of this man in his kitchen.  _ Error, error, error… _

He mentally kicked himself and graciously accepted the offered mug, nodding his head in thanks. “Mhm, yeah,  _ yes _ , I’m good. Just… thinking.”

“You,  _ thinking _ ? Careful big guy, it’s a little early for you to be trying something like that. Don’t want you hurting yourself.”

“Oh, ha ha, very cute, Tsukki,” he drowned the betraying smile slipping onto his lips in his newly acquired coffee, relishing how the steam felt on his cheeks.  _ Kei wanted to be snarky? Fine, Tetsurou will play, he lived for this game.  _

“I know I am,” Kei plopped himself down at the kitchen table, back turned to the other man once more— and definitely not because he was hiding a blush, don’t be  _ ridiculous _ . 

He heard Kuroo hum, “Actually,  _ you _ should be the one worried about getting hurt.”

Kei scoffed, looking over his shoulder incredulously, “Was that supposed to be a  _ threat _ ?”

“ _ If you want it to be,”  _ the raven haired man teased as he strolled forward to stand behind Kei, following a playful wink with a dismissive roll of his eyes.

“No, your C6-C7 is out of alignment,” he placed a couple finger touch along his spine where the base of Kei’s neck sat between the slope of his shoulders. The blonde had to bite the inside of his cheeks to stop the shiver that was dangerously close to rolling down his back, though he knew from the quiet snicker behind him that he’d probably already failed at that. “You should let me give you an adjustment at some point. Gravity isn’t too kind to bean poles like you, so I’m sure there’s more to straighten out than just what I’m catching at first glance.” Then the touch was gone and Kuroo reentered his line of sight to take a seat across from him at the table, amused feline eyes smiling at him over the rim of his coffee cup. 

“And when exactly did you switch professions?” Kei quipped, trying to ignore how a certain spot on his spine still tingled slightly, “Because last time I checked, you were a personal trainer, not a chiropractor.”

Tetsurou just shrugged, throwing on his signature shit eating grin, “What can I say, I was top in my kinesiology classes.”

He got back a half scoff and a, “Whatever, I’ll think about it,” before the blonde was back to tapping away at his phone. 

“Who’s demanding your attention this early?” 

“You mean  _ other _ than you? Tadashi, kinda… he’s got me throwing together a list of things from the apartment I need sent over and wants it as soon as possible so he can try to get everything shipped off today. Something about Hitoka worrying the postal service will get shut down? I dunno…”

“Those two define anxiety.”

“Tell me about it.”

Kei figured he wouldn’t need a ton; he’d packed most of his essentials for the trip and could definitely pick up any toiletries he’d only brought travel sized versions of at a shop sometime soon. But having some more of his clothes on hand would be nice, jeans and trousers didn’t seem like the ideal day to day attire in a quarantine and he’d only thought to bring a couple bits of lounge wear. 

The most pressing items he’d want on hand were materials from work. There were some boxes in his home office with archive files from the museum for a new Egyptian artifact collection that’d recently been donated. Obviously the public would no longer be viewing the pieces anytime soon, but that just meant Kei had more time for cleaning up the hieroglyph translations and logging in the hard copy documents the donor had provided into their system. It was tedious work that probably shouldn’t be on the head curators agenda, but Tsukishima had some trust issues with the capabilities of his department's registrars following an incident with an ushabti doll last year, and would genuinely rather suffer if it meant knowing the work was done right. 

He figured the museum could send over any other documents he’d need that’d been left waiting for his return in the office, and the laptop he had with him would be more than enough for working on the database and answering what would undoubtedly be a thousand emails from concerned sponsors, his team, and one very high strung director. 

_ So what else did he need?  _ Nothing specific was coming to mind but—

“Oh hey, did you bring running shoes with you?” Tetsurou snapped his fingers, adorning an expression of revelation as if he’d just had either the most brilliant or most moronic thought pop into his head. 

“What? No, of course not. Why would I need—“

“Tsukki, I’m officially hiring myself as your personal trainer— free of charge, you are so totally welcome— so there’s no way in hell I’m letting the only time you go outdoors for fresh air be for grocery outings. You and I, we’re gonna go jogging in the mornings!”

“No.”

“ _ Yes!”  _ Kuroo got up, collecting his and the  _ very irritated looking  _ blondes’ mugs to go refill. A caffeinated Kei would be easier to convince, he reasoned, “We don’t have to go  _ every day _ , ok? But routines are important and so is exercise, so when you’ve got your shoes we’re going jogging.”

“No way. That’s not going on the list so you can just forget  _ that _ little plan.”

Tetsurou returned to lean against Kei’s side of the table, dangling a fresh mug tauntingly in front of his face, “Then  _ I’ll  _ just text Yamaguchi and tell him to send them.”

Kei snatched the cup out of his hands, glaring up at the man with barely disguised apprehension, “You don’t have his number.”

“I  _ didn’t _ ,” Kuroo corrects, carefully watching as Kei took a sip of his coffee, “But apparently he went and got  _ mine  _ off of Chibi-chan the moment you said you’d be staying here and sent me very clear instructions to call him if you decided to be a brat.”

“Fucking, Tadas—“ Kei’s face pinched and he ground his teeth, dark liquid sloshing onto the table as his mug was slammed down. Kuroo simply braced for the iminent explosion with an amused smile.  _ Brace for nuclear meltdown in T-minus 4, 3, 2… _

_ “Who does he think he is, my  _ **_mother_ ** _?! Un- _ fucking- _ belivable! As soon as this nightmare is over I’m going to rip his overbearing head off! And hell with it, Hinata’s too!  _ **_God_ ** _! Is there a reason  _ everyone  _ in my life feels the need to blatantly ignore that I’m a grown ass adult?” _

Tetsurou waited patiently, expression unchanging even as Kei aggressively stood up from the table and marched out of the kitchen, the distant sound of the guest room door flying open echoing in the house. He picked up the abused coffee mug, and started wiping down the table, unsurprised and therefore paying no particular attention when the blonde re-emerged moments later, now sporting a t-shirt and clutching his laptop and headphones in hand. He made a beeline for the adjoining lounge, and promptly plopped himself down on the couch with an audible huff. 

Yamaguchi had admittedly  _ warned _ Kuroo this’d likely be the reaction should Kei find out about what was clearly being considered nothing below _ high treason.  _ He’d made a vague allusion to an ongoing point of tension between Kei and Akiteru, something about some patronising comments and over stepping boundaries when Kei was in college? Anyway, apparently it was still a very touchy subject and Kei didn’t take well to anyone besides his literal mother trying to parent him. 

But Tetsurou also knew better than to keep this a secret. Should Kei have found out several weeks down the line, this little tantrum would pale in comparison to the apocalyptic destruction that would’ve reigned down on all of their heads. Screw this virus, Tsukishima Kei would’ve been infinitely more deadly. Plus, Kuroo would never turn down an opportunity to press his favourite blondes buttons just to see what would happen. This wasn’t the first time he’d invoked the wrath of Tsukki and caused him to go full supernova— and likely wouldn’t be the last— so he knew the moment the man had sunk down onto the couch that brilliant mind in his head had probably started shaming him for that unnecessary rage display and would proceed to over analyse and internalise it to the effect of creating his own personal black hole. 

Kuroo approached the couch, leaning over the back to present his peace offering to the already less fuming man. He watched Kei silently consider the mug for a few long moments, before accepting it with a quiet grumbling of, “ _ Thank you…” _

The older man moved around to sit on the opposite end of the couch, watching Kei carefully as the steam stopped pouring out of the others ears. Kei was watching the dark liquid in his hands with a dejected grimace as if the right words to say would be spelled out on its surface, but nothing appeared and the tension between his brows began to settle. 

“He worries because he cares about you. You’re his best friend, you know that,” Tetsurou’s voice smoothed over the ragged edges of the tense silence. He definitely didn’t watch too closely as Tsukishima lifted the mug to his lips,  _ didn’t notice their light blush colour or how they were maybe a little chapped and that they contoured to the edge of the cup perfectly. _

“I know,” Kei’s voice was quiet, if not a little strained. 

“If he didn’t trust you to take care of yourself, he wouldn’t have told you he was alright with you not coming home. He wouldn’t have wanted you to stay here.”

“You’re right.”

“You wanna know what his text really said?”

“No.”

“He said he’d leave the vague threats on my life to Daichi, and that  _ you _ could probably quarantine alone on a deserted island and be perfectly fine so I’d better realise how  _ lucky  _ I am to have you willing to put up with my ass for however long this takes. Oh and that trying to convince you to do  _ anything  _ before you’re thoroughly caffeinated is something I’d be doing at risk of my own life… or, something like that. You can read it yourself if you want, I’m totally paraphrasing. That guy uses some seriously big words for such a little dude.”

That earned him a slightly amused snort. Kei glanced over at Tetsurou, let his gaze rest on that lazy cockeyed smile and the most simultaneously critical and teasing yet warm and comforting eyes he could ever recall having rest on him. He sighed, looking back at the steam curling off the surface of the coffee. 

“So…”

“Yeah ok, I’ll ask him to send the stupid shoes.”

——————

The rest of the day was relatively quiet, something that seemed out of sorts considering the day prior. But in a couple weeks when hindsight would be 20/20, this would be considered day one of their new normal.

Tsukishima spent hours in his spot on the couch. Yes,  _ his  _ spot. There’d been a wordless claim on the corner cushion of Kuroo’s burgundy sectional since the first hour of Kei’s visit. The blonde sat there every day since— for the morning news, to crumple into an exasperated heap after returning from long afternoons out in the city, sometimes to watch a movie, or just to catch up with his host. 

Kuroo wasn’t going to complain, he genuinely didn’t need to. His own spot was directly in the center of the stretch of couch that ran parallel to the tv, had been since he bought this too big monstrosity. When Bo and Akaashi came over for the first time since he bought it, they’d found their own go-to places as well. Keiji had curled up with his back against the far arm rest of the perpendicular stretch, feet kicked up and a throw pillow tucked comfortably in his lap. Koutarou on the other hand had  _ sort of _ tried sitting still long enough to find a comfortable place, but ended up fidgeting around so much that he’d ended up falling off the couch entirely. In true Bokuto fashion, he’d decided to mope, denying that the less than graceful tumble was his own doing, instead choosing to declare that the couch must in fact have it out for him. Ever since, the man had settled into a habit of sitting directly on the floor, back tucked into the corner of the L— similar to where Kei sat now, but… you know…  _ floor _ . 

Kuroo couldn’t help but think Tsukishima fits there perfectly, like he was made for that spot.  _ Although maybe that had less to do with the couch as it did with his life in general.  _

The two spent the day generally absorbed in their own tasks. Kei held his spot in the lounge, clicking away at the keyboard. He’d woken up to a month's worth of emails from work that’d seemingly piled up overnight. The museum's board of directors was sending out vague and nonspecific instructions on how work would proceed, with the new tentatively estimated timetable for when the opening of exhibits would be. But of course no specific dates could be assigned until the ‘reopening of non essential work places’ was cleared by the government, and seeing as  _ that _ information was still in disastrous disarray, all of the pre planning in the world would be nothing short of useless. 

As anticipated, Tsukishima had a long list of concerned donors knocking on his metaphorical door with an endless list of concerns about situational protocol, the safeguarding of their lent artifacts, and how the museum would be sustainable while closed. While these morons were typically his departments concern, most of their questions could only be answered by the board, so Kei had to individually redirect them to the right authorities while being as reassuring and level headed as he could manage; a role he was also having to play with the employees in his department who were clearly riling themselves into a frenzy.

Meanwhile Kuroo had his own set of tasks to keep himself busy with. His gym had sent out instructions to get in contact with all his usual clients, ensuring them that training sessions would resume within the week in the form of live video instruction. He made a mental note to rearrange his home office soon and set up the space to support a home workout; but honestly that seemed like a task for future Tetsurou to tackle. 

He took stock of everything in the kitchen. With a notebook on the floor next to him, Kuroo sorted through the pantry, through the fridge, freezer, and every cupboard. There were some goods in his house he didn’t even realise he  _ had,  _ definitely didn’t remember  _ buying  _ them at least because seriously who the hell eats lentils and why were there three different canisters of unsweetened cocoa powder all in different parts of the kitchen? 

He felt quite accomplished with a full grocery list in hand by late afternoon, and he’d make sure to drag Tsukishima along to the shop with him tomorrow.

With his kitchen back in order and the cocoa powders now all stored in the same location, he busied himself with prepping dinner. Neither of the men had the energy or really even the appetite for anything the day before, and while he was sure Tsukishima probably  _ could  _ exist solely on black coffee and dry cereal, what Kuroo had preached earlier on the importance of routine was a sermon he intended to put into practice. And that started with home cooked meals. 

God bless Akaashi for the housewarming gift of a fully stocked recipe box, because while maybe it’d sat relatively untouched the past few months save for a few special occasions, Kuroo had the feeling it’d become his new favourite recourse. He flicked through the neatly printed index cards, eventually extracting a recipe for a sweet chili glazed coconut crusted prawn and tofu dish. It seemed simple enough and would pair nicely with the zucchini he wanted to use before it went off, deciding searing all of that up and dropping it over a couple bowls of rice would work out just fine. 

——————

Kei’s eyes were  _ burning.  _ He shoved his glasses up from his nose, letting the damn things push blonde wisps off a permanently creased forehead. He ground his palms into his lids, relishing the ache that at least offered a new sensation. As blind as he was without his glasses, he would gladly swear up and down that they acted like magnifying glasses under sunlight; except the sun was actually a computer screen and the target of that focused burn were two golden irises. 

Kei’s shoulders  _ ached.  _ As cozy as Kuroo’s couch was, sitting on it for hours declared posture be damned. Hyper focus is what got him as far in his career as he had, but also meant Tsukishima could go hours nonstop in the most uncomfortable situations, circumstances, and positions without notice all in the name of top shelf productivity. And the added buzz under his skin of the ceaseless rushing of caffeine through his blood only pushed him further into that laser focused state that left his to-do list empty but his bones twinging with pain. 

Kei’s stomach  _ growled _ . He honestly hadn’t even thought about food since picking at a bowl of dry corn flakes that morning, content with the small kick it gave him to get his day started. But now the sun was setting, his coffee mug had long since run dry, and something smelled  _ incredible _ . 

Pushing up from the couch and unfurling those long limbs, Kei allowed himself a long satisfying stretch before padding into the kitchen. Kuroo was by the stove, swaying a little as he tossed something around in a loudly sizzling pan. A little tune twisted around in his chest as he worked, something Kei assumed he was making up on the spot. The blonde leaned in the doorway, quietly appreciating the show,  _ and goddamn it was a show indeed! _

Toes tapped along with the silent beat, moving the man a short slide to the left and then a bump to the right. His hips swished this way and that, both as taunting and smooth as the man himself. An added dash of salt to the pan ran up toned arms into a playful shimmy at the shoulders. When he flicked his wrist to toss the ingredients his head flicked that wild plume of hair into a new arrangement too. It was a priceless performance and Kei had a front row seat, but  _ fuck he needed to stop staring before— _

“Christ, Tsukki!” Tetsurou had done an almost comedic level double take upon catching sight of the blonde out of the corner of his eye, “I need to put a bell on you! How… uh, how long were you standing there?”

Kei mentally drop kicked the blush out of his cheeks, hiding behind a conveniently placed hand adjusting his glasses. He hoped his usual sarcastic bite would mask his embarrassment at  _ totally being caught staring.  _ “Long enough to see you serenading dinner.”

“Serenading, seasoning; every dish needs a little spice!”

“I don’t think that’s what the recipe meant by  _ add a dash of salsa _ .”

Kuroo huffed out a poorly disguised laugh, turning off the heat on the stove, “Well why don’t you  _ waltz _ your smart ass the rest of the way in here and grab a couple beers from the fridge while I dish this up.”

Tsukishima rolled his eyes but wandered over to find the drinks nonetheless. He popped off the caps and set them down at the table just as Kuroo approached with two bowls in hand. They sat themselves down in the same spots they’d been in that morning. Kei offered thanks for the meal and the two happily dug in.

“This is actually really good,” Tsukishima hummed, popping another crispy bit of tofu in his mouth before adding, “You should’ve let me know you were making something, I would’ve come in to help.”

Kuroo dismissed him with a shake of his head, “Nah, you had your nose buried in something that looked like it would’ve made my brain melt and had on that scrunchy concentration face that screams ‘ _ Do not interact, genius at work’.  _ So I figured the least I could do was have food ready for when you were done.”

“I don’t make a  _ scrunchy concentration face _ ,” Kei glared.

“Oh you totally do,” Kuroo retorted, pointing at him with his chopsticks, “You used to make it all the time during games. It’s half of what made you such an awesomely intimidating opponent.”

Kei buried a betraying smile under a mouthful of rice, taking the moment to chew and try not to look too flattered at the compliment. After a moment he decided to ignore the compliment and reply, “Well you’ve gotta let me help out around here at some point. I’m your housemate now, not a guest. I want to do my part.”

“You’re doing me a huge favour just by being here. That’s already more than enough.” 

“Even so,” Kei pressed on, violently fighting off the rising heat and fluttering in his chest at the other man's barrage of kind words, “You can’t just be taking care of me, I stayed so you’d have someone to take care of you too. This whole… living together  _ thing _ is a two way street. Or to put it in terms a volleyball idiot like you would understand; this isn’t a single person sport, we play as a team or not at all.”

Now it was Kuroo’s turn to hide a blush  _ because when did his closed-off brick wall of a first year boy turn into this mature team captain material young man?  _ He reached for his beer bottle in hopes of swallowing down the uncontrollable affection squeezing at his throat. Kei didn’t let the silence sit for long though.

“Plus anyway, you know what they say…”

Kuroo quirked a curious eyebrow as he took a sip from his drink.

“It takes two to  _ tango.” _

It took ten minutes, a mountain of paper towels, and a new shirt to clean up the resulting spew of beer that came flying out of Tetsurou’s nose. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am sooooo sorry it took so long to get this up. I had uni hand in and then was genuinely brain dead for two weeks. And then while writing this chapter I had ideas for more bits and plot points and moments I’m gonna put in this piece so it took a while to sort and organise all of that. Also this chapter is kinda stupidly long. But I have a feeling most of them will be. I don’t half ass well, so if it takes weeks longer than intended to make an update, so be it as long as I’m happy with the outcome. 
> 
> I hope you guys enjoy, I’d love to hear what you think in the comments!!! 
> 
> -Kay xxx

**Author's Note:**

> If you liked what you read, leave a comment and let me know!!
> 
> Chapter 3 is under way, and dear GOD buckle up for that...


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